A moment later, Stella was astonished, her mouth agape in surprise. Around twenty fairies had entered the room through the window, each struggling under the weight of a pouch the size of an apple slung over their shoulders.

Even if the pouches contained just one penny each, it was still quite something.

Stella swallowed hard as she looked down at the pouches the earth fairies were stacking in front of her. Dirt fell from the pouches, which had been pulled from underground, but she didn’t mind at all.

“We only brought a portion for now. The rest are deeper down, so it might take some time,” Esta said after counting the pouches he had placed on the floor. The pouches, made from large plant leaves, appeared as tough and sturdy as leather, thanks to some special technique.

“Can I open them?”

She needed to check what was inside first.

“Sure. They’re all yours now, Stella. Do whatever you want.”

“All for Stella!”

“We’ll bring more tomorrow!”

Seeing Stella’s delight at the sight of the pouches, the earth fairies excitedly promised to bring more the next day. Stella, filled with anticipation, opened the first pouch.

“Wow.”

The first pouch was filled with old silver coins. They shone brilliantly without a single tarnish, looking extremely valuable.

“They sparkle like a noble pickaxe!”

“What are you talking about? A noble pickaxe sparkles and looks much prettier!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Stella didn’t hear a word of the earth fairies’ chatter. She realized today, for the first time, just how materialistic she was.

She would have been happy with just pennies, but these were silver coins. And there were still nineteen more pouches left to open.

With a trembling heart, Stella opened the remaining pouches one by one. After checking all the pouches, the world seemed beautiful to her.

The first pouch contained silver coins, but the rest were filled with gold coins.

Who knew such a day would come in her life?

Stella wanted to shout with joy but held herself back.

“Where should I keep all this?”

After some thought, Stella went to the dressing room and brought back a suitcase she had brought with her when she came to the Credion Empire. It was a bit old and worn compared to the other luggage, but it was a suitcase she had used since childhood, and she was attached to it.

She had brought it along because she thought it might be thrown away if left behind, never expecting it would serve this purpose.

It was so old and shabby that no one would bother to look inside.

Stella opened the suitcase and carefully packed the pouches filled with coins inside.

The suitcase quickly became heavy, and Stella’s heart felt just as full. She thought about how wonderful it would be if she could just run away with the lineage document.

However, the problem was that it would be difficult to use the gold and silver coins immediately. They were old, and she would likely need to sell them through a merchant to convert them into usable currency.

Still, it was much better than having nothing.

Stella could now understand what it meant to feel full without eating.

***

With the hunting festival season returning after a year, the royal city was filled with an unprecedentedly festive atmosphere.

The Plant District was no exception. The princesses were busy summoning tailors to the castle almost daily to prepare dresses for the festival.

Although they had to choose from tailors who had permits to enter the royal city, the princesses spared no expense to secure the most famous and skilled ones.

However, Stella had no interest in spending money on a new dress. She was content to wear one of the dresses she had brought with her.

“Princess, if you give me the completed handkerchief, I’ll submit it for you,” Milla said, looking at Stella, who was sitting in front of a sewing basket. In Milla’s opinion, Princess Stella wasn’t particularly skilled at sewing, but her determination was commendable.

What had initially resembled a rock gradually sprouted arms and wings, transforming into something like a stone flower, and eventually, it grew a beak and legs, becoming a bird-like creation.

“You’ve embroidered an eagle, symbolizing bravery.”

Milla took the handkerchief from Stella, trying hard not to sigh, and bowed politely.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll be back soon.”

Milla carefully folded the handkerchief that Stella had painstakingly embroidered and placed it inside an elegant box. The word “Verdura” was engraved on the outside of the box.

These embroidered handkerchiefs were delivered to the main castle by dedicated maids. In the past, they had been collected and transported all at once, but incidents of them getting lost or mixed up often led to disputes.

Eventually, it was decided that each maid would deliver them individually. This was a critical matter for the princesses sent as hostages, eager to catch the emperor’s attention.

A carriage was already waiting at the entrance of the Plant District, ready to depart for the main castle. It was designated for the maids tasked with delivering the handkerchiefs for the hunting festival.

***

Milla did not return until after sunset.

As Stella gazed idly at the garden, which was growing darker, she suddenly remembered the seeds she had yet to plant. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but it soon would be. The thought of planting the seeds filled her with excitement.

She walked slowly to the end of the garden.

There, she spotted a familiar figure. Recognizing the knight who had recently received carrots and pie from her, Stella approached him quickly.

The old horse he had ridden was with him. Its name was Ben, wasn’t it?

“Royce?”

He usually came late at night, looking weary, so seeing him at this hour felt strange.

The man had a completely different aura compared to when she had glimpsed him in the dark.

With naturally tousled black hair, deep brown eyes, a straight nose, and suitably red lips, he had an impeccable appearance.

She hadn’t realized it at night, but Royce was indeed very handsome. Even his clothes didn’t look as worn as before.

“What brings you here at this time?”

Royce seemed momentarily flustered by Stella’s question, then pointed to the empty ground and asked, “Have all the carrots been harvested?”

Royce answered her question with another.

“Yes, they’re all pulled out.”

“All of them? That many?”

Stella nodded. Royce looked troubled. Watching his face closely, Stella asked teasingly, “Did you come because you wanted more?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Kai, who was trying to lead the stubborn Ben outside, frowned when he saw the princess striding into the now-dark field. She was carrying the pickaxe she had used last time.

He couldn’t fathom what she intended to do at this hour.

“What are you planning to do now?”

“I’m going to plant something,” Stella replied without looking at Kai, thrusting the pickaxe into the ground. The sight of a woman alone at night, wielding a sharp farming tool and digging the earth, was quite eerie.

Kai, unable to resist his curiosity, found himself approaching Stella.

Stella was digging deep into the ground with the pickaxe and planting round seeds she took from her pocket.

It seemed like a very tough job to do alone. Considering he had eaten her food before, Kai thought he might help a little and asked, “Would you like some help?”

“Would you?” Stella asked, her face lighting up as if she had been waiting for this. Kai agreed to help and reached out to take the pickaxe from Stella. However…

“No, I’ll do this. You just need to plant the seeds and cover them with soil when I dig.”

“But it seems like it would be better if I handled the pickaxe.”

The situation seemed odd. A frail woman was digging the ground with a pickaxe, while he, all muscle, was tasked with gently tossing seeds.

Kai offered once more to take the pickaxe, but Stella was adamant.

Having already offered his help, Kai had no choice but to crouch on the ground and start planting seeds in the holes Stella dug.

“Make sure to cover the soil well. The seeds shouldn’t be exposed to sunlight.”

“Yes.”

Kai, who had been carelessly covering the soil, quickly responded and pressed down firmly on the spots where the seeds were planted.

He imagined the bewildered looks on the hidden guards’ faces.

Somehow ending up helping with planting seeds, Kai let out a helpless laugh once the task was done.

‘What am I doing here? It was all because of the stubborn Ben.’

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I finished quickly.”

Stella approached him with a bright smile, a stark contrast to the bitter smile she had worn because of the meager gift from her father.

Her smile was bright, radiant, and clear. Although it was a pitch-black night without a trace of sunlight, Stella’s smile seemed vividly visible.

As Kai pondered the oddity, he noticed the pickaxe resting on Stella’s shoulder. It seemed that the moonlight reflecting off the pickaxe made her smile more visible.

“Then I’ll be going.”

Just as he thought he would never return, and was about to lead Ben away, Stella called out.

“Wait a moment.”

Stella quickly spat out her words and dashed off toward Verdura Castle.

A princess of a nation running so recklessly, Kai unknowingly sighed and shook his head, then was startled to find an earth fairy glaring at him from the ground.

It was a fairy with long hair, one he had never seen before.

“Don’t speak ill of Stella.”